Erik Destler
by fantomedebroadway
Summary: Phantom of the Opera mixed with a little of Silas Marner in the beginning. With a new beginning to our beloved story will the the outcome be any different? In this story, Erik has a real reason to hate the de Chagnys. R/C moments with an eventual E/C romance but shall this be an R/C or E/C ending? Even I do not know. Looking for a beta!
1. Prologue

AN: I already started this story before my new one so I thought ' why not post the first chapter' . I know in the beginning Erik is sort of OOC but if he was well liked, he would not have been as crazy. I hope you like it, please review!~ Emilycosette  
Disclaimer: I do not own Phantom of the Opera or Silas Marner.

* * *

Prologue  
For any other couple strolling along the Parisian streets it would have seemed like an ordinary day. Yet to one couple sitting on a bench near a fountain it was a monumental day.  
Sorelli shrieked with joy when her dear Erik knelt on his knee and twisted his hand to reveal a ring box.  
" Yes, I will" she said with joy before he could even ask the question.  
" Yo-you will" Erik managed to stammer out, for he had prepared a long speech at his home the other day and even passed it through his best friend Phillipe to make sure it was worthy of her.  
" Of course, my dear Erik" she said , placing the ring on her finger, " Oh we must tell Mother and Father right away. They shall be so elated"  
Erik knew they would be anything but. He had approached the Comte and Comtesse the other day, begging them to let him marry Sorelli. They denied him saying they would rather Comte Phillipe marry their daughter and not a peasant like him. But Erik had gone against their wishes and worried what they may say when they found out.  
" I'm afraid I must decline Sorelli" Erik sadly said , " Phillipe is waiting at the DeChagny manor for me".  
Sorelli left with a forlorn look and her chaperone followed giving Erik a glare before getting into the carriage with her master. Erik hailed a hansom cab and stepped in , making sure the driver was not looking, before replacing his skin-colored full mask with a white half one.  
"Where to" the driver shouted as the horses whinnied.  
" The de Changy manor" Erik yelled back from the backseat. The carriage smelled like a cheap whore's perfume and it tickled unpleasingly at his nonexistent nose. Erik watched from the small window as the carriage passed the L'Opera Populaire. It was a such a grand , elegant place, and Erik only wished he could work and live there.  
The carriage finally stopped at the estate and the french doors opened. Barreling out came Raoul and a tiny brown haired girl with eyes as blue as the sea. Raoul stopped running as they passed by Erik.  
" Hello Raoul" Erik said pleasantly.  
" Bonjour Erik, this is my friend Christine " Raoul said back and pointed to the , now that he saw her fully, fourteen year old girl , who smiled and waved shyly.  
" Bonjour" she said in a sweet timbre her eyelashes creating a shadow.  
" Nice to meet you" Erik said," Raoul is your brother in the house?"  
" Yes, he is waiting in the foyer for you" Raoul said before grabbing his friend's hand and running away asking her about some red scarf.  
Ah,children, he thought as he entered the house.  
"My friend" Phillipe greeted," I heard of your recent engagement"  
" Yes" Erik said," and what have you to say"  
" It is very foolish my friend see has not even seen your face" Phillipe angrily said, " I want to meet her with her tonight, for I have never spoken to her, you shall be there too. "

* * *

Sorelli held onto Erik's arm as he escorted to the de Changy mansion. Pulling open the door for her he led them both into the parlor where Phillipe would be waiting.  
" So this is the lovely lady my friend has been prattling on about" Phillipe said kissing Sorelli's pale hand.  
" Nice to meet you Comte " Sorelli said curtsying.  
" Likewise" Phillipe said, then he motioned to a silent Erik," the real reason you are here tonight is of great importance. Have you seen my friend's face beneath the mask ?'  
" No I have not" Sorelli said softly also glancing at Erik.  
Knowing what must be done, Erik cautiously untied the strings of his mask. Sorelli screamed seeing his deformity, his sunken cheeks and missing nose , and held onto Phillipe to keep from fainting.  
" You are a monster " Sorelli screamed .  
" Do you want the monster to leave" Phillipe asked Sorelli.  
After she nodded Phillipe shouted at Erik and pointed to the door , " Leave my friend and never come back"  
Erik made his way to the french doors left ignoring the servant. He stepped into the darkness wondering where he shall go next.


	2. Chapter 1

AN: I already had this chapter written so I thought ,' Why not post it '! I will update my other fanfic tomorrow or tonight whenever I write the chapter. I really need a beta. Please review! This story does change POVs very often though it stays in 3rd person.  
Disclaimer: I do not own Phantom of the Opera

Chapter 1  
* 6 years Later *  
Christine Daae raised promptly at dawn for another one of Madame Giry's ballet rehearsals. As a little piece in the Paris Opera's Corps de Ballet she had to stretch and work her sore legs in ways proper ladies are not allowed to. Christine stepped into her improper leotard and white practice tutu, then started the arduous task of typing up her pointe shoes. She tied each satin ribbon , albeit messily, then stepped into the thin dormitory hallway and went the completely opposite way of the practice room. Ballet could wait , she had to see her angel first.  
Madame Giry was once the prima ballerina and an infamous beauty at the opera populaire , but old age and work hardened the previously soft features. In fact, Madame could see herself in her daughter, Meg, with her dainty face and beautiful dancing yet the blonde curls were all Charles. Antoinette Giry had a brief summer romance with Charles Devenue resulting in a pregnancy and loss of Antoinette's high position in the ballet corps. The previous ballet mistress had a caring heart and promised the nervous Antoinette the position when she retired. Madame Giry was thankful for Madame Tenissanare for her generosity as she now watched over the young ballet girls as ballet mistress. Madame Giry smiled as her daughter bounded in tying her long, loose curls into a tight bun.  
" Maman" Meg said smiling giving her mother a hug.

" Bonjour Meg, I trust you slept well" Madame said, this was the only girl besides Christine that Madame did not berate constantly. They were both her daughters, Christine in a figurative sense as her father had to come to Antoinette when the child was fourteen and he was near death. Ever since , Christine and Meg were like sisters and Antoinette loved them both.

" I did Maman , merci, have you seen Christine" Meg asked her mother.

" I was going to ask you the same, my dear" Madame Giry said frowning. Christine always was off somewhere with her head in the clouds.

" Leave her be Maman, she will return later" Meg said , hoping her mother would not get mad at her very best friend.

" Okay my dear" Antoinette said kissing the top of her daughter's head, " Girls get ready to practice."

" Christine, my dear you can not see me , only I can see you" Erik said calmly throwing his voice up a little to make him sound like a celestial angel from heaven. This was the same girl he had seen with Raoul all those many years ago and he gotten to know her very well. The de Chagny's on the other hand, he has not seen since the night he ran out of the mansion six years ago. The previously tiny, plain girl had grown into a brown haired beauty with the most alluring eyes Erik had ever seen. Erik had never revealed himself to her , no that was not an option considering Sorelli's reaction to his face being imprinted in his memory, instead taking on the guise of the Angel of Music as per Christine's wish. Yet Christine, now twenty years old and wanting a real man, was demanding more of poor Erik and stating that she wished to see him. Christine knew he wasn't an angel anymore, she was too smart for that now, as Erik had taught her vast studies surpassing that of even the richest boy's .  
" You say you have traveled to many places" Christine said months ago.

"Yes"

" Then you must be a real man , and I must see you now" Christine demanded.

" In a few months my angel" Erik had said trying to prolong this reveling situation until the last minute. Christine, though beautiful and sweet, was a bratty, spoiled child reminding him of Luciana , and the ending of that story was horrible and gruesome.  
It was Christine's sob that broke Erik's heart. He had heard those sobs before and hated that he was the cause of Christine's pain. Erik scowled , he head already planned on making Christine debut as Elissa tonight and now he had another thing to worry about. He had heard the opera had gotten some new patrons and Erik wondered if they really loved the arts or if they were there for publicity manners. The Epoque always featured stories about the opera's new patrons. Erik also knew that if Christine did not leave soon Antoinette would be mad, no furious , at him. There he made his choice! Placate the girl, find the new patrons, and get himself ready to reveal his true identity.  
" My angel, do not cry, I will show myself after your debut" Erik said calmly.

" My debut" Christine asked, dazed.  
" Yes ,my dear girl, do not ask questions. You are late to practice" Erik said, then he was gone.  
Christine nodded her head in consent and looked outside the tiny window. She was late !The sky was illuminated with soft streaks of dawn as a proof that she missed her early morning ballet practice. Madame Giry would be livid, that she knew, so she stood up from the floor and walked briskly to the main practice room.  
Madame Giry stomped her walking stick on the wooden floor.  
" Girls that was a disgrace " she yelled at the quivering ballerinas, " now, we must leave for Hannibal rehearsal on the opera stage. We shall not let la Carlotta have another fit."  
Antoinette then made the ballet rats walk in a straight line and counted each one. After all ballerinas left including her daughter Madame realized Christine was still missing.  
" That girl and her wandering mind" she quipped sharply before following her ballerinas through the opera populaire.  
Christine ran to the main practice room only to find it empty.  
" Of course they would be on the stage for the Hannibal rehearsal " Christine said aloud for some reason. Erik heard her shock and chuckled quietly behind the corridors.  
She ran through the opera populaire faster than those foxes her "angel" told her about. Madame Giry stared at her as she went to stand next to Meg. Meg turned to her with a questioning look but Christine shook her head.  
" As I was saying girls, I would like to introduce the new patron" Madame Giry said. She then motioned to two people enshrouded in darkness to come out.  
" This is the new patron Phillipe de Chagny and his wife Sorelli ."


End file.
